The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim Review

In this sly and dazzling contemporary fantasy, the most notorious nine-tailed fox in Korea pairs up with a trickster god–turned–detective to track down a wrathful demon . . . before it can destroy the mortal world.
 

Kim Hani has retired from a life of devouring souls. She is, simply put, too full. Once known as the infamous Scarlet Fox, she now spends her days working in a coffee shop and annoying a particularly irritating, if unfairly handsome, trickster god as often as she can.
 

That god is Seokga the Fallen. Exiled from the heavenly kingdom of Okhwang, he now begrudgingly resides in the mortal realm, working toward his redemption and suffering through his interactions with the particularly infuriating, if sneakily charming, gumiho barista at his favorite café.
 

But when a powerful demon escapes from the underworld and threatens to end all of humanity, Okhwang’s emperor offers Seokga an enticing bargain: Kill this rogue creature, as well as the legendary and elusive Scarlet Fox, and he will be reinstated as a god. Hani, however, has no intention of being caught. Seokga might be a trickster god, but she has a trick of her own that he’ll never see coming: teaming up. As Seokga’s assistant, Hani will undermine and sabotage his investigation right under his overly pointy nose. Sure, she’ll help him kill the demon, but she certainly won’t allow him to uncover her secret identity while they’re at it.
 

As the bickering partners track their case down a path of mayhem and violence, the god and the gumiho find themselves inescapably drawn to each other. But will the unlikely couple stand together to prevent the apocalypse, or will they let their secrets tear them—and the world—apart?

A tired and stiff fallen god and a mischievous gumiho that likes to annoy him form an unlikely buddy cop duo in a paranormal murder investigation involving demons, grim reapers, other gumihos, and more. Throw in the potential for the world to plunge into darkness, immortal sibling god rivalry, coffee culture, and you get the overall gist of the God and the Gumiho. Sophie Kim’s adult novel fantasy debut and the first half of a now finished duology, this book is an entertaining urban fantasy story perfectly suited for fans of paranormal kdrama series that deftly weaves together its fantasy romance with a well-plotted serial murder mystery that perfectly walks the line between being lighthearted and fun vs more serious and grave.

Heavily inspired by Korean mythological folklore and legend, one of the best elements of this book is Kim’s clever use of these elements within the book’s mostly original story. While this book is sometimes classified as a retelling due to its use of preexisting folklore around Seokga the Trickster god (plus other numerous deities included) and the legend of the Gumiho, the book’s specific paranormal mystery story is largely an original work. I will be the first to admit that I have very little knowledge of Korean folklore apart from a very basic understanding of what a gumiho and jeoseung saja are (shoutout to the few kdramas I’ve seen such as Black and Hotel del Luna). Nonetheless, I found the folklore elements quite interesting to read about. While I initially slightly struggled with trying to remember what each non-human being was due to the book breezing over many of their first introductions or summaries, after the first fifty or so pages, the folklore elements become quite easy to follow. Though the book includes many elements from stories both historic and contemporary, they’re utilized in a way that’s entertaining and straightforward, avoiding the potential to get too bogged down by world-building or expansive lore.

From the opening prologue chapter that visualizes a cherry blossom petal drifting through the fictional city of New Sinsi, to the the fallen god Seokga having a meet cute (or moreso a meet-uncute) moment with the gumiho Hani in a chic coffee shop, this book feels like a modern romantic kdrama in book form. Featuring celebrity gossip columns or discussion around one’s immortal god biases, Kim cheekily mixes and matches concepts from Korean pop culture which not only is a lot of fun, but also helps lighten the mood for those that may find grisly murder scene investigations uncomfortable to read about. That said, this book is first and foremost a fantasy romance story so it’s by no means overly graphic or violent. The story also proudly leans into quite a few common tropes like the infamous one shared bed, forced work proximity, and the ill-fated, doomed romance. It’s a bit cliche, predictable, and can be overly rosy at times, but it’s very much in line with the kdrama style and knows exactly what its fans would want.

In addition to its kdrama feel, the book’s other big asset is its lovable main characters who have great platonic and romantic chemistry. Although Hani and Seokha initially do not get along, their distaste doesn’t really feel like the typical enemies to lovers dynamic that can get quite stale and overused. It feels more like a mutual mild dislike, all traced back to an ill-received coffee shop order. As their partnership as investigator and assistant develops, their relationship takes on a refreshing grumpy and tired MMC against the sassy and cheeky FMC pain in his side that gets a kick out of irritating him constantly. Their banter is very amusing and the gradual shift from unlikely allies to friends feels slow and natural. Though the romance jumps and develops a bit fast for my personal liking, it’s still well done and the dire circumstances surrounding their ill-fated romance keep raising the stakes as the paranormal dangers grow. It also helps that both characters are quite likeable and fun to follow, particularly Hani who’s a nice mix of fiery and foxy while still being street smart and resourceful. Seokga on the other suits the tired, caffeine-deprived, and more straightlaced of the two well, though I found that his perchance for stability often feels at odds conceptually with him being the god of trickery, his title more often feeling in name only rather than by his specific actions.

While I expected the book to have good character chemistry and romance based on the premise and from book friends recommending this book, I was pleasantly surprised by the God and the Gumiho’s paranormal murder mystery storyline. Purposely set in 1992, an important detail necessary for the book’s sequel, the plot is a cool fusion of modern urban fantasy infused with Korean folklore mythology. While not quite to the intensity or level of detail of an authentic mystery thriller or crime genre book, I was quite impressed with what it delivered. Hani and Seokga’s investigations into the string of mysterious deaths were very compelling, and the paranormal elements allow for some interesting scenes such as interviews with the dead conducted during a short time window before they’re whisked away by the jeoseung saja to the afterlife for reincarnation, or inspecting the crime scenes and their unusual circumstances. There were occasionally moments in the first half of the book where I forgot I was reading a fantasy romance story, particularly when the story is focused on a game of cat and mouse consisting of Seokga trying to kill the famed and rogue Scarlett Gumiho while Hani actively tries to redirect and sabotage his progress. Though I deduced most of the major plot twists and surprises, I found the general investigation and reveals to be well done. Fantasy readers who are less familiar with mystery novels or more casual readers that don’t actively theorize different narrative scenarios will likely find the story and its twists even more satisfying.

While I enjoyed reading this book overall and loved the narrative choices Kim was making throughout the story, I had some minor nitpicks, most of them attributed to the middle section where it started to lose its momentum for me. The book juggles several main storylines that are interwoven, those being the investigation into the mysterious murders, Seokga’s bitter conflict with his brother, Hani’s mess involving the Scarlett Gumiho’s return, and their growing relationship. While the story has a strong start and a very satisfying conclusion, I found the middle section a bit inconsistent in its pacing and focus. Of the various storylines introduced, I found Seokga’s immortal woes subjectively to be one of the less interesting elements of the story partly because the material lacks the action of the other storylines, but also because the spirit of the book Hani doesn’t have much to do during their familial disagreements. The quest to track down a potential witness to a murder also felt unnecessarily drawn out in respects to its contribution to the story (despite an amusing exchange with a faerie whom Seokga had history with) which is immediately followed by a narrative lull before the storm. The material isn’t inherently bad or out of place, those that enjoy romantasy books may in fact prefer this section over the earlier detective procedural bits. However, I found it to disrupt the story’s flow, more noticeable in this book than in other romantic fantasy stories given how strong its paranormal plot is. While this story isn’t one that requires flowery or literary writing to work, I also would’ve appreciated a bit more lyricism to the storytelling and prose which is otherwise quite simplistic and basic, the read having the feeling of YA book that only earns its adult classification by aging up by its more adult romantic content and murder crime scenes. Despite both being thousands of years old, both characters also have a tendency to act like they appear as young adults rather than reflecting their true age, Seokga having never cuddled in all his existence being quite ridiculous to believe.

Featuring great main characters, interesting Korean folklore-inspired elements, and an unexpectedly strong urban fantasy plot, the God and the Gumiho is a very good fantasy romance book that’s easy to like and recommend. Apart from some folklore heavy terms and beings that can be confusing to follow for those unfamiliar with Korean mythology, the narrative is easy to digest and enjoy while still delivering a compelling story outside of its fantasy romance focus. While it’s clearly intended to be part of a duology given its wistfully framed ending and an open-ended approach to Seokga and Hani’s futures, the book still wraps up most of its other notable storylines in clear and satisfying manner, making it a pseudo standalone read (though to quote my friend, “but a really sad standalone”). Though I had a few minor nitpicks on the story’s pacing and simplistic presentation, I really enjoyed this book overall and am very much looking forward to its sequel and whatever else Sophie Kim comes up with next!